Toothbrush holder



May 22, 1934- A. A. SCHNEIDER Er AL 1,959,600

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Filed March l, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l HTTOR/VEY May 22, 1934- A. A. SCHNEIDER r-:r AL

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Filed March l, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 22, 1934 UNETED ST AT ES TOOTBBRUSH HOLDER Adam A. Schneider and Herbert Schneider, Merchantvlle, N. J.

Application March 1, 1933, Serial No. 659,192

9 Claims.

flange which, when a brush is placed in the cabinet with its handle depending below the cabinet, fits against the depending handle of the brush and closes the slot in the bottom of the cabinet through which the brush was inserted intothe cabinet.

A further object of this invention is to provide a bottom of the cabinet, one for each compartment or cell, with a slot which is substantially T-shaped, the horizontal stroke of the T being of an oval shape to closely t around the handle of the brush near the brush head and to be subr stantially closed by the brush handle when the brush is hanging therein, and to provide a door for the cabinet having a flange which closes the vertical stroke of the T when the door is closed.

Thus it is a further object of this invention to provide a tooth brush cabinet, the interior of which, when the cabinet is closed and the brush is housed therein, is protected from dust and foreign matter but in which each compartment is practically open to the atmosphere, for the free circulation of air therein.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple construction for the hinging of the doors or closures to the cabinet of vitreous material in a neat and permanent manner.

Further objects of this invention will appear in the specification and claims below.

Referring -now to the drawings forming a part of this specification and in which `the same reference characters are used throughout .the various views to designate the same parts,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a cabinet embodying our invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational (View of the same with one door closed and the other door open;

Fig. 3 `is a horizontal sectionalview on the level of the handles in the doors, one door being closed and the other partly open;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view showing the cabinet suspended on the wall;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View Vthrough the cabinet showing the manner of suspending the tooth brush in the cabinet and the manner of closing the slot in the bottom wall of the cabinet;

Fig. 6 is a front fragmentary elevational'view of a portion of the free'edg'e of a door or closure, a part of the knob being broken to show Ythe manner of securing the knob to the door, the drawing being on a larger scale than that of the preceding figures;

Y Figs. 7 and 8 are also fragmentary views on an enlarged scale showing thes'l'ots Ain the bottom wall of the cabinet for the insertion of the brush handle and diagrammatically showing the manner in which the brush handle is'inserted and'how it iills the inner or rear end of the slot; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are fragmentary front elevational and horizontal cross-sectional views'of a modified arrangement for securing theY doors tothe cabinet in a hinged relationship.

In the form of our invention, the tooth brush holder comprises a body 'portion 1 of vitreous material and providing four individual compartments 2, doors 3, the doors being'""respectively hinged to the cabinet at the opposite vertical side edges thereof. The number of n doors and the number of compartments may, of course, obvl- 4 o usly be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

The interior ofthe body 1 is divided by vertical partitions 4 and 5-5 into four compartments 2 above noted and the bottom wall 6 is preferably provided with what may be termed T'fshaped slots 7, one for each compartment, for the insertion of the brushesv into the cabinet and for holding a brush A suspended in the opening as will 0 be referred to again below.` The middle partition 4 preferably extends outwardly a little beyond the plane of the ends of the other partitions 5-5 and with vertical ribs or flanges 8--8 on opposite Sides of the from edge ,of said middle partition 4 95 to provide seats 9--9 for the front free vertical edges of the doors. The upper horizontal wall 10 is also undercut slightly on each side of the partition 4 above the cells or compartments 2 to provide seats 11 for the upper horizontal edges of the doors.

All the corners 12 in each compartment 2 are amply rounded corners so as to make the entire inner surface of each compartment easily accessible from the front of the cabinet for cleaning. 05 There are no sharp corners in any compartment in which unclean foreign matter can accumulate.

The upper horizontal partition 10 is preferably provided with a concave upper surface 13 in which a-tube of tooth paste or a similar Aarticle may be supported, theupper wall lllbeing, preierf ably provided with a forwardly extending up'- wardly curved lip 14 for the purpose. The top I5'v of the rear wall 15 of the cabinet may be' molded` into any suitable shape or design and is provided" with holes 16 for the insertion of screws for the securing of the device to the wall of a room.

The forward edge 17 of the bottom wall 6 of the cabinet and the seats 9 and 11 are preferably in the same plane, and the plane of these seats is preferably slightly inclined to the vertical, as`

is clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5 so that if the door is left nearly half open, the doors tend to swing to closed position by gravity.

The vertical sides 18 of the body 1 are provided with integral vertical ribs 19, one on each edge and I preferably provide each rib with two vertically alined slots -20. The front surface of these ribs 19 also lies in the plane of the seats 9-11 and 17 so that the frame of the door, when closed lies at against said seats. n

In the modification shown in Figs. `2 and 3 the g forward or front end of these slots 2 0 terminate in a vertical channel 2 1 eXtending substantially Ythe door so blanked is preferably provided with opening 22.

integral tongues 23 of suitable length to be wrapped around a cylindrical rod or pintl'e124 and with small integral tongues 25projecting from the inner side of A the frame toward the A rectangular piece of ne mesh y 'wire screening 26, preferably of Monel metal, 4is

inserted under the tongues 25, and thereafter the tongues may be pressed or hammered tightly against the back side of the piece of screening 26 1 to firmly and securely hold the screen on the inner side of the frame. As clearly indicated in Figs. 2 and 6, the edge of the screen may show through the openings from which the tongues 25 were pressed but since the tongues are small and the'wire of the'screening 26 is ne, this does not substantially detract from the appearance of the door, as clearly appears in Fig. 6.

The screen 26 may, however, be secured to the inner side of the frame in any other suitable manner. Thus, if the screening 26 is to be spot welded to the frame, the frame need not be provided with the tongues 25.

We may, and preferably do further secure the screening 26 xedly to the door by providing each knob 27 with a pin having a square shank 28 which passes through and nts a corresponding square aperture 29 in the door frame, and a preferably cylindrical integral section 30 which is riveted to one end of a spring member 31. This spring member 31 provides a curved rounded surface 31 adapted to resiliently slide the vertical rib 8 in closing the door, the spring serving to securely hold the door closed once the spring has been pushed to the rear of the rib .8.

As will clearly appear from Figs. 2 and 4, there will be bare places on the pintle 24 between the tongues 23 and to secure this door to the front edge of the cabinet, we make or provide bands of thin metal 32 which can be inserted around the pintle 24 and loosely ts between the tongues 23 and pressed tightly around the pintle as clearly appears in Fig. 3. Having done this, the free ends esoneriV inside of the channel-2l Aand flat against thevseats- 9 and 11 surrounding the cell-s.

In Figs. 9 and 10` we have shown a slight modication or" constructionwherein the holes or slots 20a tapering rearwardlyl outwardly to make the slot wider at the rear opening than it isat the front opening in order that the ends of the bands 22 may'be bent over toward e'ach other and the two free ends forced down intothef rear end of the opening 20n between the lengths of thc bands that were iirst passed therethrough-inl order to form a head 34 on the rear side of the ribs 19 to prevent the bands 32 forming the hingev members from being loosed from the body' of the cabinet.

The tooth brush A is a conventional one having a head aand a handle b slightly bent forwardly in a gentle ciirve below the head a. The handle b has the usual concave sides near the head a thus providing a part c' ofsmaller crosssectional area than the part d and elliptical in shape, a little nearer the head a'.

Now referring to Fig. '7, by holding the brush A sidewi'se, the smaller part c indicated by ellipses in Fig". 7, may be easily inserted into the front open end of the slot '7 and moved into the inner wider end thereof whereupon it may then be turned through an angle of'QO". If now the brush be lowered slightly, the part dof the larger cross-see tional elliptical area will contact with the walls of the' rear or wider end of the slot and will fit, fill and practically completely close said rear end of the slot I'7. This latter position is shown in Fig. 8.

In order to insure that the head a of the brush A is retained in a substantially vertical position while hanging in the wider rear' portion of the slot '7, we nd it desirable to incline the rear wall 7' slightly forwardly downwardly so that the rear surface of the' handle of the brush immediately below the wider portion d will t and lie flat against said wall when the head of the brush a is vertical. This is clearly indicated in Fig. 5 and is shown in a somewhat exaggerated scale in Fig. 7. l

The bottom edge of each door 3 is provided with a horizontal flange 34 extending the full length of the door and of such a depth or width that when the door is closed, the rear edge of the flange 34 just reaches to and touches the forward sides of the handles of the brushes depending in the slots 7 in the compartments 2 which are closed by the door, with the result that the handles of the brushes and the anges 34 completely close the slot 'l when the door is in closed position and there is a brush in each compartment.

This practically makes the interior of the box inaccessible or impenetratable from the outside by any insect life and the brush of each member of the family may be kept each in its respective rco iso

Yzo

i a casing of vitreous material 35l house a brush compartment and the brushes will consequently readily dry and will be kept in a clean, sweet and sanitary condition. l

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. In a tooth brush holder, the combination of a casing having imperforate side, top and back walls and having a series of vertical partitions integral with said casing and providing a series of noncommunicating compartments, each of a size to conveniently house the brush head of a tooth brush, the bottom wall of each compartment being provided with a substantially T-shaped slot, that part of said slot corresponding to the vertical stroke of the T extending from the front edge of the bottom wall rearwardly and being a little wider than the thickness of the handle of a tooth brush and the part of that slot corresponding to the horizontal stroke of the T being of a size and shape to closely iit the said handle but spaced from the brush head thereof, a door hinged to a vertical side of the casing and provided with a horizontal flange extending rearwardly from the lower edge of the door under and close to the lower wall of said casing when said door is closed, to substantially close all but the rear end of said T-shaped slot, and a fine mesh screen forming a part of said door operative to prevent the entry into said cabinet of insect life and to permit the surrounding air to circulate through said screen to said compartments.

2. In a tooth brush holder, the combination of having a series of vertical partitions integral with said casing and providing a horizontal series of compartments in said casing, each of a size to conveniently house a brush head of a tooth brush, said casing having an integral Vertical flange extending laterally from the front edges of the side walls of said casing and provided with spaced vertically alined slots extending therethrough from the front to the rear thereof, a door of sheet metal, a pintle i adjacent a vertical edge thereof and spaced straps integral with said door encircling said pintle, separate straps of thin metal also bent around said pintle at a point substantially midway between the free ends thereof and between said firstmention straps, the free ends of said last men- Ationed straps being inserted through said slots and having their free ends bent over to prevent the withdrawal of said last mentioned straps from said slots.

3. In a tooth brush holder, the combination of a molded casing of vitreous material having imperiorate side, top and back walls and a series of vertical partitions integral therewith and providing a horizontal series of noncommunicating compartments, each of a size to conveniently head of a tooth brush, all of the corners of each compartment being rounded to facilitate the maintenance of each compartment in a sanitary condition, the bottom wall of each compartment being provided with a slot extending rearwardly from the front edge thereof to permit the insertion of a tooth brush handle, the rear end of said slot being wider and closely fitting the handle of a tooth brush when turned therein to bring the bristles to extend forwardly toward the front of the compartment, a metal door having a fine mesh screen panel therein, hingedly secured to the side wall of said compartment and having an integral flange extending rearwardly from the lower edge of said frame, under and close to the lower surface of said casing when the door is closed, whereby said slot is substantially completely closed by said flange and the handle of a tooth brush when inserted therein, and the interior of said casing is closed to the entry of dust and insect life.

4..In a wall cabinet for holding tooth brushes in a sanitary manner, the combination of a casing of vitreous material open on the front and divided by vertical partitions integral with the casing into a horizontal series of noncomrnunicating cells or compartments, each adapt-cd to conveniently house the head of a single tooth brush, all the corners of each compartment being rounded, a pair .of sheet metal screen doors respectively hinged to the iront edges of the opposite side walls of said casing, the bottom wall or" said casing being provided. with a slot, open at the front edge of said bottom and extending rearwardly for the lateral insertion of a tooth brush handle therein and provided at its rear end with a wider portion in which said handle may be turned to direct the bristles of said brush head outwardly, the bottom edge of said door being provided with a substantially horizontal flange extending under anr1 close to the bottom wall of said casing when said door is closed, said slot in said bottom being substantially completely closed by said flange and said brush handle when a tooth brush is supported in the rear end of said slot and the door is closed,

5. In a wall cabinet for holding tooth brushes, I

the combination of a casing of vitreous material open on the front side and divided by integral vertical partitions into a horizontal series of compartments, the corners of each of which are rounded, the front vertical edges oi the side walls being provided with a longitudinal groove, a pair of doors having ne mesh screen panels, said doors being respectively mounted on the opposite vertical edges of said casing on hinges seated in said grooves, the middle partition with which the swinging vertical edges of said doors cooperate extending a little outside of said doors when closed and providing recessed seats on opposite sides thereof for the reception oi the free edges oi said doors and the upper wall of said cabinet extending a little beyond and outside of the doors when closed, to form a seat for the top of the door, when closed, the front edge of the bottom wall of said cabinet also engaging the inside of the bottom of said door when closed and being provided with slots the rear ends of which snugly t the handle of a tooth brush when inserted therein, and said doors being provided with flanges extending rearwardly from the bottom edges thereof to effect,

with a brush supported in the rear end of said slots, a substantially complete closure of said slots, whereby the interior of said casing is closed to the entry of dust and insect life, and air is free to circulate through said door and through said compartments,

6. In a wall cabinet for holding tooth brushes, the combination of an integral casing of molded vitreous material, access to the interior of which being only at the front side and through the bottom wall, the interior of said casing'being divided by vertical partitions integral with the casing into a plurality of noncommunicating compartments each adapted to enclose the head of a tooth brush,

the bottom of said casing being provided with ilo iso

said means including a door having a panel of very iine mesh screening, said door being hinged to the vertical side edge of said casing and being provided with a horizontal flange at the bottom edge thereof which when the door is closed eX- tends under and close to the under surface of the bottom wall and rearwardly as far as said brush handle, whereby said slots are completely closed by said brush handle and said ange, and whereby the moist air in said compartments is slowly absorbed by the surrounding atmosphere through the fine screening forming the panels of said doors.

7. In a wall cabinet for holding tooth brushes, the combination of an integral casing of molded vitreous material access to the interior of which being only at the front side and through the bottorn Wall, the interior of said cabinet providing a compartment adapted to enclose the head of a tooth brush, the bottom of said casing being provided with a slot, the inner end of which snugly lits the handle of a brush when a brush is placed therein, and means to close said casing to the entry of dust and insect life, said means including a door having a panel of very iine mesh screening, said door being hinged to a vertical side edge of said casing and being provided with a horizontal flange at the bottom edge thereof which, when the door is closed, extends close to the under surface of the bottom wall of said casing and rearwardly as far as said brush handle, whereby said slot is completely closed by said brush handle and flange when a tooth brush is suspended at the inner end of said slot and the door is closed, and whereby the moisture in the air in said coinpartments is slowly absorbed by the surrounding atmosphere through the iine screening forming the panel of said door.

8. A rnoldedV integral vitreous casing Vopen on the iront side, the iront edges of the side walls being provided with vertical grooves for the seating therein of door hinges and provided with slots extending rearwardly in said side walls from said grooves for the reception of hinge fasteners, the top wall overhanging slightly the front edges of the side walls to provide a door seat thereunder, said casing having a vertical imperforate partition integral therewith and extending outwardly slightly to lie iiush with the front edge of said top wall and providing seats on opposite sides thereof lying in the plane of said first-mentioned seats and of the front edges of said side walls, all the corners of said compartment being rounded to give easy access for cleaning to the entire inner surface of said cabinet.

9. In a wall cabinet for holding tooth brushes, the combination of a casing, the front of which is entirely open, the bottom of which is provided with a series of slots open at the forward edge and running rearwardly, said casing being divided by vertical partitions integral with said casing into a horizontal series of noncommunicating compartments, each adapted to conveniently house the head of a single tooth brush, and a door hingedly secured to the vertical side of said casing and having a substantially horizontal iiange extending under and fitting against the bottom of said cabinet and cooperating with a tooth brush supported in therear end of saidslot to completely close said slot, said door being provided with a i'ine mesh screen whereby when said door is closed the interior of said casing is securely closed against the entry of dust and insect life and whereby air may slowly circulate into and out of said compartment through said screen to dry the contents of said compartment and maintain said compartments clean and sweet.

ADAM A. SCHNEIDER. HERBERT F. SCHNEIDER. 

